Allowed

Febin v. State of Kerala

Kerala HC20 Aug 2020Bail Appl./5144/2020

Case brief

AI extract

What is this about?

In a bail application under Section 439 CrPC, the High Court of Kerala allowed bail to the first accused in a drug possession case. The court rejected the prosecution's argument that multiple NDPS cases barred bail, noting the petitioner's other case involved only IPC bailable offences. Bail was granted on stringent conditions including a bond, social distancing, and non-interference with investig

What did the court decide?

Petitioner released on bail on executing a bond of Rs.50,000 with two solvent sureties, subject to conditions of cooperation, no leaving India, and adherence to social distancing guidelines.

Febin Vs State of Kerala — Narcotics (NDPS) | Kerala HC (2020)

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IN THE HIGH COURT OF KERALA AT ERNAKULAM

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PRESENT

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THE HONOURABLE MR. JUSTICE P.V.KUNHIKRISHNAN

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THURSDAY, THE 20TH DAY OF AUGUST 2020 / 29TH SRAVANA, 1942

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Bail Appl..No.5144 OF 2020

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CRIME NO.24/2019 OF Chalakkudy Excise Range Office , Thrissur

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PETITIONER:

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FEBIN AGED 23 YEARS NELLISSERY HOUSE, NADUTHURUTH, MELOOR VILLAGE, CHALAKUDY TALUK. PIN-680307

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BY ADVS. SRI.P.VIJAYA BHANU (SR.) SMT.POOJA PANKAJ SRI.VIPIN NARAYAN SRUTHY N. BHAT SHRI.ABEL TOM BENNY SRI.P.M.RAFIQ SRI.M.REVIKRISHNAN SRI.AJEESH K.SASI

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RESPONDENT:

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STATE OF KERALA REPRESENTED BY PUBLIC PROSECUTOR,HIGH COURT OF KERALA, ERNAKULAM, PIN-682031

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SRI.RENJITH.T.R., PP

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THIS BAIL APPLICATION HAVING COME UP FOR ADMISSION ON 20.08.2020, THE COURT ON THE SAME DAY PASSED THE FOLLOWING:

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B.A.No.5144 of 2020 2

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P.V.KUNHIKRISHNAN, J

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B.A.No.5144 of 2020

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Dated this the 20^th day of August, 2020

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O R D E R

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This Bail Application filed under Section 439 of Criminal

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Procedure Code was heard through Video Conference.

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Petitioner is the 1^st accused in Crime No.24 of 2019 of

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Excise Range Office, Chalakkudy. The above case is registered against the petitioner and another alleging offence punishable

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under Sections 20(b)(ii)B of the NDPS Act.

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3.The prosecution case is that, the petitioner and the other accused were in possession of 9.300 kg of ganja in two bags and the Excise Range Inspector, Chalakkudy detected the

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offence on 13.12.2019 at 2.10 p.m. The petitioner along with the other accused was arrested on 13.12.2019.

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Heard the counsel for the petitioner and the Public Prosecutor.

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The counsel for the petitioner submitted that the bail

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B.A.No.5144 of 2020 3

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was rejected to this petitioner based on the submission of the prosecutor that the petitioner is involved in two other cases registered under the NDPS Act. The counsel submitted that the submission of the Public Prosecutor is not correct. He submitted that in one case the allegation was that he was in possession of small quantity of ganga and he pleaded guilty before the trial Court. The other case mentioned by the Public Prosecutor is a case with IPC offences and all the offences are bailable offences. The counsel submitted that the petitioner is ready to abide any condition, if this Court grant him bail.

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The Public Prosecutor submitted that, he argued the earlier bail application based on the specific instruction supplied by the Investigating Officer. The Public Prosecutor supplied the written instruction given by the Excise Inspector, Chalakkudy Range in this case also.

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After hearing both sides, I think this petitioner is also entitled bail. This Court dismissed the bail application of the petitioner because the petitioner is involved in two NDPS cases. The relevant portion of the order passed in B.A.4231 of 2020 is

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B.A.No.5144 of 2020 4

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extracted hereunder:

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“7. After hearing both sides, I think the 1^st petitioner in this case is not entitled bail at this stage. He is involved in two other cases with similar allegations. While considering the bail u/s.439 Cr.P.C the antecedents of the accused is also a matter to be considered. But as far as the 2^nd petitioner who is 2^nd accused in this case, he is involved only in one case which is Cr. No.5/ 2019 of Chalakkudy Excise Range. The counsel for the petitioner submitted that he is on bail in that case. The 2^nd petitioner is in custody from 13.12.2019 onwards. As on today, he is in custody for about 234 days. Considering the entire facts and circumstances and considering the fact that the 2^nd petitioner is involved only in one case, I think 2^nd petitioner can be released on bail at this stage. Bail Application of the 1^st accused is dismissed.”

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Now it is clear that the petitioner also involved only in one NDPS case and the other case registered against the petitioner is with IPC offences and the offence alleged are bailable. Annexure-A5 is the FIR in CR No.411 of 2019 of Koratty Police Station.

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Considering the entire facts and circumstances of the case, I think there is no reason to deny bail to this petitioner alone. Therefore, this bail application is allowed on stringent conditions.

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Moreover, considering the need to follow social

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B.A.No.5144 of 2020 5

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distancing norms inside prisons so as to avert the spread of the novel Corona Virus Pandemic, the Hon'ble Supreme Court in Re: Contagion of COVID-19 Virus In Prisons case (Suo

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Motu Writ Petition(C) No.1 of 2020) and a Full Bench of this Court in W.P(C)No.9400 of 2020 issued various salutary directions for minimizing the number of inmates inside prisons.

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Moreover, it is a well accepted principle that the bail is the rule and the jail is the exception. The Hon'ble Supreme Court in Chidambaram. P v Directorate of Enforcement (2019 (16) SCALE 870), after considering all the earlier judgments, observed that, the basic jurisprudence relating to bail remains the same inasmuch as the grant of bail is the rule and refusal is the exception so as to ensure that the accused has the opportunity of securing fair trial.

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Considering the dictum laid down in the above decision and considering the facts and circumstances of this case, this Bail Application is allowed with the following directions:

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Petitioner shall be released on bail on

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B.A.No.5144 of 2020 6

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executing a bond for Rs.50,000/- (Rupees Fifty Thousand only) with two solvent sureties each

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for the like sum to the satisfaction of the jurisdictional Court.

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The petitioner shall appear before the Investigating Officer for interrogation as and when required. The petitioner shall co-operate with the investigation and shall not, directly or indirectly make any inducement, threat or promise to any person acquainted with the facts of the case so as to dissuade him from disclosing such facts to the Court or to any police officer.

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